Nomenclature
by A.Pevensie
Summary: AU. Nanao Ise works at an agency which supplies firms with temporary secretaries. Her latest assignment: personal assistant to Shunsui Kyouraku of Sereitei Inc.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, so any names/characters/plot elements you recognize because of their eerie or exact similarity to those found in Tite Kubo's story are, in fact, his.

Note: I have put the names in western order, and have used western forms of address (Mr., Ms., ma'am, etc.). I know that some of the nuances of the relationships are lost because of this, for which I apologize, but I decided it was better to use terms I was familiar with and deviate from the original work rather than use the Japanese terms and butcher them.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"What do you know about Shunsui Kyouraku?"

If Nanao Ise was surprised by the question that greeted her when she walked into Hana Shimizu's office, she did not show it.

"Shunsui Kyouraku?" she repeated, looking thoughtful. "Well, he's one of the founding members of Sereitei Inc., and is now the head of the Marketing department. They say he was trained by Director Yamamoto himself, and worked with him before he started Sereitei. He's an important man, very influential, very wealthy."

"I'm impressed, Ise. And you've never worked at Sereitei have you?" Shimizu asked.

Nanao shook her head, but at her boss's questioning look, added, "Do you remember Lisa Yadomaru? She worked here several years ago, and the agency ended up sending her to Sereitei. I believe she worked under Mr. Kyouraku for three years before moving to Vizard Inc."

"Oh," her boss said, "I do remember Ms. Yadomaru. And if you're friends with her then I think you know a little more about Mr. Kyouraku than you're letting on."

Nanao hesitated.

"It's alright, Ise." the other woman said with a wry smile. "You won't be telling me anything I haven't heard already. What else?"

"He's undisciplined, lazy, extravagant, and mostly cares about sake and women."

"Admirably succinct as usual, Ise. And given what you've just told me, I'm sure you're not surprised to hear that Mr. Kyouraku has been running through secretaries for quite a while now. Everyone, both here and at Sereitei, is getting tired of it – with good reason. His secretaries are either fired for slacking off on the job or they quit because _he's_ been slacking off. Sereitei is putting on the pressure for us to send someone who won't do either. I need to send in someone I can trust, someone that I know won't back down too easily."

Nanao remained impassive at the praise; she could see where this was heading.

"I've suggested you to Director Yamamoto, but you don't have to take the position if you're uncomfortable with it. Still, I'd like you to at least consider it. Will you?"

"Yes, of course." Nanao thought for a moment. "May I let you know tomorrow?"

"That would be perfect. Just drop by when you come in."

"Thank you Ma'am." Nanao stood, bowed, and left the office, trying to remember everything Lisa had ever told her about Shunsui Kyouraku.

* * *

Nanao called her friend after dinner that night. The two had met when Lisa spoke at a college fair at Nanao's high school, and had been together for Nanao's freshman (and Lisa's senior) year of university. Lisa's career at the secretarial placement agency had been no small influence when Nanao was looking at her options after college, and she still suspected that Lisa, though she'd moved to Vizard and Co. permanently by then, had put in a good word for her when she'd applied for a job.

"Nanao?"

"Hi Lisa. I have a question for you." said Nanao.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking, Nao." said Lisa dryly. "Now what did you want to know? You're sounding more business-like than usual."

"Actually, I wondered if you could tell me about Shunsui Kyouraku."

Nanao could hear Lisa's smile through the phone. "Him? Don't tell me they're sending you to Sereitei?"

"Well, I was asked to consider it. Should I not? I thought you'd enjoyed working under him." Nanao said.

"I usually did. What do you need to know about him? I don't remember how much I'd told you when I was at Sereitei. That was a while ago."

Nanao gave her the same information she'd given Ms. Shimizu. "And it worries me that he's gone through so many secretaries."

"Umhmm." Lisa assented. "I wonder what he's been doing." She sighed. "Probably just being himself. Shunsui is brilliant, but people tend to overlook that because he's also everything else you said. And more." she added, dryly. "He really is in charge of the sector, and he's quite brilliant, but he does tend to take naps. A lot. During office hours. And he's very … flamboyant."

"That was not precisely encouraging." said Nanao.

"No, I suppose it wasn't. But I'm not trying to be discouraging Nanao. The secretaries have probably been quitting because they can't quite handle him. But I'm sure you could. The others all probably tried to his job and made a mess of it, too." she said, professional disgust seeping into her voice.

"Handle him? What exactly to you mean by-" Nanao said, with a touch of worry.

"Oh, you'll be fine. It will be a challenge. And I know you enjoy challenges. Just be yourself Nanao. I know how professional you are; you just need to do your job. He'll take care of his." She could hear Lisa smiling through the phone again.

"Well, if you think I should, I can at least give it a try. But how are you? How's Vizard?" Nanao asked, and Lisa launched into an explanation of the latest antics of her coworkers. Nanao wasn't fooled by her repeatedly expressed frustration with their unprofessionalism and constant bickering – she knew how much Lisa loved her job.

Lisa's love of her work was actually one of the main reasons Nanao was considering the job with Sereitei. She knew that Lisa, even though she'd eventually left, had liked working at Sereitei, and Nanao had not particularly enjoyed her last few secretarial positions.

The agency where she worked provided temporary secretaries to a wide variety of corporations and firms. The secretaries usually worked for three to six months, although if the employer liked them enough they could be hired on a more permanent basis. Nanao, though she'd been with the organization for nearly four years and had a reputation for efficiency and hard work, had still not found a position she wasn't glad to leave when her time was up. Sereitei would at least be a change of pace.

* * *

Nanao Ise started work at Sereitei Inc. as the personal secretary to Departmental Director Shunsui Kyouraku a week later. She had been in the day before to see the office that would be hers, but had not been able to meet the previous secretary who had, apparently, announced her resignation by leaving a post-it note reading "I quit" on her desk one night and simply not showing up at work the next day.

She didn't really mind not having to meet with the former secretary, of whom she was quickly forming a very low opinion. She did wish, however, that she more of an idea what all the papers on her desk were. Since her boss was not yet in – and it was already 8:30, she noted – she called in one of the undersecretaries.

"What, exactly, is all of this?" she asked, gesturing to the crowded desk in front of her. After nearly 45 minutes spent on one stack, she was in no mood to waste time or words.

The young man looked a little nervously at Nanao, who was standing next to her desk, arms crossed, her eyes hard behind her glasses. "I'm … not sure." Seeing her eyebrow go up, he rushed on. "It's just, Ms. Sato was only here three weeks, and before that the secretary for two months was Ms. Takahashi, and she left things in a bit of a mess. I don't think Ms. Sato had finished sorting things out from her before she left."

Nanao sighed. She would have even more to do than she'd have realized. "Very well. Thank you for explaining. You may go." He bowed nervously and left.

She looked back down at her desk for a few minutes, already a little despondent as she realized she wasn't even sure where to start. Pulling herself together she walked back around the desk and sat down, straightening her glasses. "I'll just have to get to work, then."

"Already?" a deep voice said from the doorway behind her, sounding amused.

Nanao looked up in surprise to see her new boss leaning against the frame of her door. He was wearing black suit pants and a white button-up that was open at the collar, but no tie. He did not seem to have brought a jacket.

"Sir!" she exclaimed, starting up. "I didn't realize you were here yet."

He waved a hand at her calmly. "Don't worry, don't worry. And don't be so formal." He smiled at her warmly. "Your name is Nanao Ise, am I correct? Come in, come in. We can sit in my office and get to know each other a little before you dive into that pile of papers." He crossed the room as he spoke, stopping to hold open his office door after he unlocked it. "Unless you're that eager to get started?"

"Oh, no, I, I'm sorry, I'm just coming." Cursing herself mentally for sounding so incompetent, Nanao quickly stood up, walking back around the large desk and into his office. She sat in a comfortable chair while her boss – Mr. Kyouraku, she silently reminded herself – walked behind his own desk and made himself comfortable, propping his feet up on it. His informality was in sharp contrast to her own straight back and neatly crossed ankles.

"So," he said, "tell me a little about yourself, Nanao Ise. Or may I call you Nanao?"

"I would prefer that you call me Ms. Ise, Mr. Kyouraku." she said.

His smile widened. "Lovely Nanao, you are too formal! No, no, I insist. You are too beautiful for such a hard name. And you must call me Shunsui."

"Yes Mr. Kyouraku." she replied, stoically.

He made a little tsking sound, but did not correct her. "Now, tell me a little about yourself."

"I am 28. I have worked for the agency for four years, starting two years after I graduated from S. Business School. I have worked at Forrest Inc., Lorie &co., and several other firms." she stopped. "What exactly did you wish to know, Mr. Kyouraku?"

"Nanao, my darling, anything you wish to tell me. But I suppose that is enough for now. Now, what were you interrogating poor Kimura about?" he smiled at her, brown eyes warm.

"I would prefer that you call me Ms. Ise." Nanao said briskly. "I have several questions about the papers stacked on my desk. I noticed that there are several copies of form …" and the next half an hour was spent in a question and answer session about the filing and reference system the office used, followed by a tour of the office facilities, and then a break for tea, something Shunsui seemed to feel was absolutely necessary.

During tea he told her a little about his expectations – most of them pertaining to the atmosphere required for a relaxing tea break – but otherwise Nanao got very little in the way of specific instructions.

It was a little frustrating, she admitted to herself, but less so than the way he persisted in calling her by her first name, usually with some form of endearment attached. Thanks to this she had ended up prefacing most of her sentences with, "I would prefer that you call me Ms. Ise." and she was beginning to fear that she was fighting a loosing battle.

After tea Nanao got to work again. She had to get up to go see Mr. Kyouraku several times with questions about his schedule, meeting times, and more forms, but by lunch she at least felt like she had made some headway.

When she got back from lunch, however, more papers had arrived and Mr. Kyouraku had several meetings scheduled. He almost missed the first one – Nanao had been knocking on his door for several minutes when she finally gave up and went in, uninvited, to find him napping behind his newspaper. She was a little exasperated, but remembering Lisa's advice, was determinedly polite and professional. Well, as professional as could be expected when she was standing in front of his desk all but yelling to get him to wake up.

The only apology she received was: "Lovely Nanao, it is a pleasure to wake up to the sound of your voice."

"I would prefer that you call me Ms. Ise. And here is your schedule for the afternoon, along with some files I thought you might want for the second meeting." She handed him a stack of papers. He flipped through them, selected a few, and handed several back.

"Very perceptive." He said, approvingly. "These should do." He walked her out to her desk, but stopped at the door to the outer office. "Darling Nanao, do you think you could arrange for tea at three? I plan to be back by then." But he was gone before she ask him, again, to please call her Ms. Ise.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! This is my first fanfic for Bleach, so I'd be especially grateful for feedback to improve characterization etc. And if anyone is interested, I'm looking for a beta for this.  
~Arielle


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I still don't own Bleach.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Three weeks into her new job and Nanao had finally gotten the last of the stacks of papers organized and put away. There were no boxes next to the outer door, and the polished wood floor was clear except for a small rug across from her desk. Once the clutter was gone, she realized, it really was a pleasant room.

Her L-shaped desk dominated the right side of the room, the large window behind it flooding her work area with light. Her chair sat behind the upright part of the L of the desk so that the door into the inner office – Mr. Kyouraku's – was on her right, and the door into her own office was on her left. On the left side of the room were a few comfortable chairs and numerous book cases and filing cabinets.

It was fairly spacious, and the window was large enough to ensure that there was little need for the glaring florescent bulbs overhead. The shelves were a dark mahogany, and the carpet and curtains were shades of pale green – unlike Mr. Kyouraku's, whose vivid pink curtains were emblazoned with large flowers.

Speaking of which, she realized suddenly, there was a bouquet on her desk. Again. Nanao hoped that Mr. Kyouraku was not going to make a habit of presenting her with flowers every Monday.

On the first day of her second week of work she had come in to find a huge bouquet of hibiscus on her desk and flower petals strewn across the floor. "It's to celebrate your one week anniversary of being my secretary, darling Nanao." Shunsui had said. He had, she surmised, come into work early expressly to set up her office, and had been leaning against his door when she entered, surveying his work with pride.

"I would prefer to be called Ms. Ise." Nanao had responded. But he seemed sincere, and his brown eyes had been so warm and apparently pleased to see her, that she couldn't help adding, "Thank you. I like hibiscus." He looked rather pleased with himself. Too pleased, she thought, nettled. "But do not carpet my floor with rose petals again. It is impractical, messy, and wastes time both in setting up and cleaning."

* * *

Nanao had been at Sereitei for six months when Shunsui asked her to take care of refreshments for the meeting that afternoon with "Hitsugaya and my dear Rangiku," adding seriously, "although she will never be as dear to me as you, Nanao." He just avoided the folder that she brought down heavily the spot where his hand been. "I prefer Ms. Ise, Mr. Kyouraku. And here are the documents you asked for."

"Ah, Nanao, my dear, I hope you don't mind bringing the refreshments."

"It's Ms. Ise, Mr. Kyouraku. And no, I don't mind." she said stiffly. But she did, in fact, mind. Nanao had always made it a strict rule never to serve food or drinks when working as a secretary. She was too well trained for it, and just because she was a woman didn't mean that she ought to have to serve, she reminded herself.

"If you would rather have someone else do it, I understand. It's not in your job description, after all. Although I don't think anyone else would do as good a job." he added, smiling, but his eyes looked rather knowing.

Curse him, Nanao thought, for being able to read her so well. And there really wasn't anyone else she trusted to take care of serving this meeting; she still hadn't really interacted with the Director or Associate Director of the International Business Department, and she wanted to make sure the department (and therefore the agency) left a good impression. The only people besides herself that she could even consider were the undersecretary of the department and the receptionist.

Unfortunately, the undersecretary was male, and from the conversation she'd overheard earlier, Nanao did not think he deserved a chance to look at the Associate Director. If it wasn't enough that the undersecretary only wanted to ogle Rangiku Matsumoto, Nanao's receptionist was, apparently, obsessed with the young Director of International Business. At least obsession seemed to be an appropriate term, Nanao thought with some amusement, given the number of times the girl had tried to change departments.

So she really couldn't let either of them do the serving, Nanao rationalized, which only left her. And really, Mr. Kyouraku himself brought her tea at least once a day, so it seemed silly to object to returning the favor. She looked at her boss. Mr. Kyouraku had known that she would eventually agree, she as sure of it. She sighed.

"No, Mr. Kyouraku, I really don't mind."

Which is how, at two o'clock sharp, she found herself knocking on the door of the conference room adjacent to Shunsui's office while balancing a large tray of drinks and pastries.

Shunsui was seated at one end of the long table, studying a chart of some kind as he listened to Toshiro Hitsugaya, who managed the Department of International Business. Hitsugaya's associate director, Rangiku Matsumoto, was leaning forward to look at the paper as well, her elbows propped up on the dark wood of the conference table. Nanao realized suddenly why exactly her male undersecretary had been so desperate to be the one serving drinks for the meeting.

"That's exactly why that won't work, Kyouraku." Mr. Hitsugaya was saying, his voice irritated. "I can't use that campaign in Karakura; it would be completely inappropriate, given that it assumes-" he stopped, seeing Nanao.

Shunsui waved a hand at him, "No, no, go on." His eyes twinkled as he looked up at his secretary, who was setting out the food. "Don't stop on account of _Nanao_." Hitsugaya studied her for a moment, glanced at Shunsui, and went on, a little grudgingly. Matsumoto also spared Nanao a glance, but quickly turned back to Hitsugaya, lips drawn together and expression serious.

"-which is why I no longer have a campaign to use, and nothing to tell Kisuke Urahara at our meeting tomorrow." Hitsugaya finished, a moment later. "The biggest problem, though, is that Ichimaru suggested this campaign. And this is confidential," another swift, half look at Nanao, and Hitsugaya continued, "but he said he had no idea that the pictures would be an issue and can't offer me anything else to use. He almost seems to be deliberately …" he stopped, his expression hard, and Shunsui nodded slowly.

"I see." he said, his deep voice thoughtful. Nanao was thinking furiously. Hitsugaya must mean Gin Ichimaru, the director of the advertising department. Clearly he was withholding information on some advertising campaign that Hitsugaya needed for a meeting with a client. Why exactly would he –

"Ah, Nanao, come here a moment." Shunsui's voice cut across her train of thought, startling her briefly. "I would like your opinion on this."

She walked over to the table, and looked down at the papers the other three were studying. There were pages of charts and tables, several large posters, and the storyboard of a commercial, all dealing with Sereitei's latest line of cell phones: Sol.

"Hitsugaya is meeting with Urahara Kisuke tomorrow to discuss using his shop as an outlet to sell the new Sol phones and equipment in Karakura. As I trust you've gathered, Hitusugaya, unfortunately, doesn't have an advertising campaign to show him –"

"-so he can't make a very good pitch and probably won't convince Mr. Kisuke to make a deal with Sereitei." Nanao finished.

"Exactly." beamed Shunsui. "So, Nanao, could you go find us the files on Karakura, if we have any?"

Nanao nodded and left, shutting the door behind her. As soon as she was gone, Hitusugaya turned to the man next to him. "Kyouraku, she's your _secretary_. What exactly do you expect to gain by including her in private conversations that –"

He was interrupted by Matsumoto's cheerful voice. "Now Director, don't say that! And you shouldn't underestimate Nanao. Look at me!" she smiled roguishly. "Just because you can't see it right away doesn't mean I don't have a great brain behind my big-"

"Yes, thank you Matsumoto." said Hitsugaya, cutting her off a little sourly.

* * *

It took Nanao longer than she had expected to find everything that might be useful, and it was nearly twenty minutes before she made her way back into the conference room holding a large pile of folders.

"About time." said Hitsugaya shortly, when she opened the door.

"I didn't realize there was so much information." Shunsui said, looking at the large stack of files in her hands and then up at her face.

"Some of this is relatively new." Nanao said, in answer to his unspoken question. She made her way over to the conference table and began laying out the information. "Here is the data from when we marketed the old Soul Candy line of electronics in Karakura – although that was a while ago. Here's the more recent information on some of our other products, although of course you know we really haven't done much in Karakura lately." There were now about ten folders on the table.

She laid down several more. "These are the research and marketing polls for each of those." Five more folders. "These are the campaign information from each product." Four more. "This is the information about the companies we used." Six more. "And these are the advertisements themselves."

Nanao moved farther down the table as she talked. "These here –" laying down seven more, "are general information: a profile of the electronics market in Karakura, information about potential competitors, including profiles of sales and annual reports, as well as some brief cultural notes on Karakura itself." She frowned for a moment. "I didn't actually have a report about Urahara Kisuke's business, but I can see if I can find one."

She stopped. Hitsugaya was looking at her in astonishment, Matsumoto in awe, and Shunsui in complacency.

"Ms. Ise," said Hitsugaya, "we haven't sold anything in Karakura for over five years because the market was doing so poorly. So how exactly did the Marketing Department come to possess this much information about it?"

"I put most of it together about a month ago." Nanao replied.

"A month ago less than ten people knew that we were planning to move back into Karakura."

"I didn't know that Sereitei was planning to re-open a sector in Karakura," Nanao explained patiently, "but Mr. Kyouraku mentioned that it would be nice if we had profiles ready for potential markets, so that the information would be accessible when we needed it. Since we used to sell in Karakura, it seemed logical to start with a profile for it."

"You mean you've done this for other places?" demanded Hitsugaya.

"A few. It's something I've been putting together in my spare time. Was there anything else you needed?"

Shunsui, who was now looking very amused, said "No, I think not. Thank you, Nanao, you've been very helpful."

As soon as she was gone, Hitsugaya turned to Shunsui abruptly. "I hope you're going to give her a raise. She certainly deserves it for-"

He was cut off by his associate director's hug, which enveloped him. "Oh Boss! You're so thoughtful!"

"Matsumoto!" he growled, but his unrepentant subordinate only laughed, her seriousness from the beginning of the meeting gone now that they had something to work with. "Don't be mad! Look, I have an idea. I was flipping through this folder of our old campaigns, and I think that with a little modification …"

* * *

Matsumoto gave Nanao a huge smile and wink as she sauntered by the secretary's desk a few hours later. Hitsugaya, on the other hand, stopped and said abruptly, "If you ever decide to work for a different department, I want you in International Business." He walked off without waiting for a reply, leaving Nanao staring after him in astonishment.

"I think it's safe to say that you've made a good impression, my darling Nanao." Shunsui told her when he strolled out of his office at five o'clock. "You never do things half-way, do you?" he smiled at her.

"Mr. Kyouraku," Nanao said wearily, continuing to pack her briefcase, "You called me 'Nanao' in front of the Director and Associate Director of International Business. As long as I'm working as your subordinate, I don't think that addressing me as such is appro-"

"Ah, Nanao, you've reminded me." He cut her off. "I did need to speak to you about your continuing to work as my subordinate." He looked suddenly serious. "Can you come in a little early tomorrow?"

Startled, Nanao could only nod.

* * *

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this! As always, I'd love input/comments/constructive criticism.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach

A/N:Sorry, I know it's been ages since I updated. Finishing school and starting my summer job took a lot more out of me than I'd expected. But, finally, here's chapter 3! And notice the name change - many thanks to farley mcgill for the suggestion, which is much appreciated.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Nanao called Lisa as soon as she got home.

"I've always been a model secretary, but I think he's planning to fire me." Nanao began, without preamble.

"What, exactly, are you talking about?" Lisa asked, calmly.

"Mr. Kyouraku. When I was leaving work today he asked me to come in early tomorrow; he said he needs to talk to me. About my position as his subordinate. What is he implying?"

Lisa gave a gusty sigh, her growing impatience evident. "There is no possible reason Mr. Kyouraku could have to fire you. You know you always do everything right."

"But what," said Nanao, a little anxiously, "if I haven't? What if my work hasn't been satisfactory? I _have_ hit his hands with my pencil when he gets too close. And once with a ruler." she added as an afterthought. "But that doesn't seem like a reason to terminate my employment."

"Of course it isn't." Lisa sounded a little bored, now. "Although I don't see why you'd care if it was." she added. "If you _are_ fired, he'll write you a very poetic letter of recommendation -" Nanao blanched at the thought of what that might contain- "and you'll be well out of it; you've been complaining about how disorganized everything still is."

"Ye-es," agreed Nanao hesitantly.

"And you keep saying it's the same busy work that you always end up with."

"Well, today was a little better."

Lisa ignored her. "So even if you do end up leaving, you should just be glad to have the opportunity to move somewhere else."

"But I don't want to be fired!" Nanao protested. "That would look terrible on my records. And besides, I don't hate working at Sereitei."

"You complain about it enough." said Lisa, somewhat severely.

"And you complain about Vizard all the time," Nanao retorted, "but you love working there."

Half a second later, she could almost hear Lisa's eyebrows going up as they both realized the implications of what she'd just said. Nanao added hastily, "But that doesn't mean I love working at Sereitei! It just …"

"It just what?"

Nanao though for nearly a minute before replying, with some surprise: "I think I do like working there. Things have been running more smoothly lately, and I don't mind the being with the rest of the staff …"

"Oh, what a stunning endorsement." Lisa muttered, mostly to herself.

"And Jyuushiro Ukitake is a wonderful person." Nanao continued.

"He still comes over for tea every few afternoons?"

"At least once a week."

"And your boss?" prompted Lisa. "Shunsui's rather a central part of working at Sereitei, isn't he? Since you're his secretary, and all."

Nanao answered thoughtfully. "Lisa, I think I might actually enjoy working under him - and I'm not sure why. The idea of working under someone like him is terrifying. He's exactly the kind of boss everyone at the agency tells horror stories abuot. I think he makes up meetings so he can hide somewhere and get extra sleep, he leaves flowers all over, he keeps sake in his office, and he avoids working whenever possible."

"Frustrating as ever." Lisa commented.

"It is sometimes," admitted Nanao, "but not as much as I expected. It isn't that he doesn't care. He does do what he needs to for Sereitei and the employees. Really, he's a very understanding boss."

"So you like him?"

"Well, he is very likeable. Inexplicably so."

"Indeed. But I don't think you ought to worry too much about him firing you. He's not an idiot, and only and idiot would fire you."

Nanao smiled wryly. "You're a little biased."

"And you're a little silly. Everyone wants a secretary like you."

"Well …" admitted Nanao, "Toshiro Hitsugaya did tell me he'd hire me if I ever left the marketing department."

"He did? Tell me about him – he came after I left, you know."

* * *

Nanao found herself rather distracted that night. While her conversation with Lisa had certainly been reassuring, she was still a little worried. Mr. Kyouraku had always seemed amused by her constant and firm resistance to his attempts at familiarity, but perhaps he was actually frustrated by it. Or perhaps he thought she was doing too much. She was only a secretary, after all. She hadn't been trying to do his job, just make it easier (and better organized) but perhaps he resented it. It seemed unlikely, but Nanao couldn't quite set her worries to rest.

As Nanao was nothing if not carefully analytical, as she lay in bed that night she carefully sifted through her reasons for being unsettled by the situation.

She had been fully truthful with Lisa –a black mark on her record wasn't the only reason she dreaded being fired; she did like working at Sereitei and really didn't want to leave the company. But why? She wasn't particularly attached to any of her fellow employees. In fact several of them seemed to be rather nervous around her. She had no idea why.

She had enjoyed figuring out and implementing the new filing system, which had been a challenge for a few days, but she had finished with it weeks ago. The brunt of her time was taken up with paperwork, reports, memos and the like, as well as phone calls and correspondence, all of which was significantly less interesting that researching and putting together the files on new markets and strategy, which she was forced to do in her spare time.

This left the third major aspect of working at Sereitei: Shunsui Kyouraku. She really did enjoy working under him. Certainly it was frustrating sometimes (alright, frequently, she admitted to herself) but he was so … content. Warm. Calm. Perhaps not calm, she amended darkly. But certainly he was frequently, well, soothing. She was the calm one, she reminded herself, the level-headed one. Shunsui was not.

But she _did_ respect him, deeply. It had taken several months, but now she wondered how she could ever have missed his kindness and understanding.

Not that he didn't enjoy teasing her. On the contrary, he had started trying to take her hand whenever he addressed her as "darling Nanao," and didn't seem at all disconcerted when she consistently produced either a fan or a pencil with which to discourage this. But his teasing was never mean,

She realized, to her dawning horror, that she would miss it if Shunsui stopped calling her Nanao and actually gave in to her constant requests to use her surname. Wait!

Nanao sat bolt upright in bed. Shunsui? Since when did she think of him as Shunsui? That was it, _clearly_ she hadn't been getting enough sleep. Lying back down, she rolled onto her other side and resolutely began to count backwards from one thousand.

* * *

The determination to completely professional was uppermost in Nanao's thoughts when she went into the office the next day. You're overreacting, she told herself sternly. You've been a model secretary in action _and_ thought. And Mr. Kyouraku had never expressed displeasure with any of her work. Still …

"Ah, my dear Nanao, you're here."

Nanao started and looked up as the man she had been carefully not been worrying about stepped into her office. From his inner office.

"Mr. Kyouraku!" she said, not registering his use of her first name in her astonishment. "You were already here?"

"I did tell you we would have an early meeting." he said, amused. "Besides, I needed to talk to old man Yamamoto and he scheduled _his_ meeting for 7:00."

"It must have been important." Nanao said, and Shunsui noticed a tiny frown line appear between her eyebrows.

"Vitally, my one and only Nanao. It was about you."

"I would prefer that –" Nanao stopped talking suddenly when her brain caught up with her mouth. "About me?" she repeated, looking up at him blankly for the second time in as many minutes.

"Of course." Shunsui smiled down at his secretary cheerfully. "And so that you will stop worrying, you can come into my office now and I will explain it to you." He stepped back into his office calmly while Nanao collected her wits and followed. What if her behavior really had been unprofessional? she thought wildly, trying to remind herself that she could not possibly be in danger of being fired.

Since she was walking behind Shunsui, she was unable to see either his broad smile or the twinkle in his eye. She hadn't reprimanded him for calling her Nanao, he mused. True, she had started to, but in cases like these, even small steps were important.

"Sit down, yes, just there." he indicated one of the comfortable chairs in front of his desk, and walked around it to sit in his own comfortable leather one. Propping his elbow on his desk and his chin on his hand, he asked seriously, "Nanao, my dear, do you enjoy your work?"

"Once again, Mr. Kyouraku, I would prefer Ms. Ise. But yes, I do enjoy my work."

"You like the department, then?"

"Yes." she responded, curious and a little nervous about where this might be going, and slightly distracted by his pink silk shirt.

"And you're good at what you do, very efficient."

It was really a statement, but she responded anyway. "I try my best to be so, sir."

"Hmmm." He agreed. "But I think, my dear, that you aren't getting a chance to put all of your considerable skills to use. So I would like to propose a change in your work."

"Sir, I-"

"How would you like to be the Associate Director of Marketing?"

Nanao looked at him, finding herself astonished for the third time that morning. "You want to … promote me?"

"Why Nanao, of course!" his brown eyes were dancing as he smiled at her across the desk. "It's what you were meant to do! And I couldn't let little Hitsugaya or anyone else have my ravishing Nanao."

'His ravishing Nanao' gave him a look that would have cracked granite.

"You want to promote me from your personal secretary to the Associate Director of the entire Marketing Department of one of the largest companies in the country." she elaborated. "Just like that, without any warning." It was not a question. "After numerous members of the staff have heard you call me 'lovely,' 'darling,' and now 'ravishing.'" Her tone was perfectly calm, the cadence of her words perfectly even. "And this seemed to you to be a good idea, Mr. Kyouraku? Perhaps you could explain why."

Shunsui was not even the tiniest bit abashed. "My lovely Nanao, you worry too much!" He waved a carefree hand. "Anyone who works will you will see you merited the promotion." The look he gave her was suddenly shrewd. "And you studied marketing after college, didn't you? So you're perfect for the position."

Her look, as she answered him, was possibly even frostier than before. "I am flattered, Mr. Kyouraku, but I refuse to accept. And I will take this opportunity to remind you again that I prefer to be addressed Ms. Ise." She stood. "Will that be all?"

With a sigh, Shunsui moved something across his desk, looking for her reaction. "Perhaps you would consider a smaller promotion first? To see if you feel up to the job, that is."

She looked down at the piece of paper he had pushed towards her. It was a contract. "_Assistant_ Associate Director?" she asked. "I wasn't aware that there was such a position."

"Nanao, dear," Shunsui said, leaning back in his chair and propping his feet up on his desk, "life is full of surprises."

She studied the contract carefully for several minutes, but couldn't find any faults. It was a fairly standard contract of employment. "Do you need to speak to the agency about it?" he asked.

"No." Nanao replied absently. "Not unless you want them to send a replacement secretary. They'll require at least a week to do so." She looked up. "When do you need my decision?"

He smiled at her cheerfully across the top of the newspaper he had picked up while she was reading through the contract. "Well, the sooner the better, I suppose. Old Yamamoto is getting tired of all the vacancies on my staff."

Standing up resolutely, and still holding the contract, Nanao said, "Then I'll inform you of my decision tomorrow. Will _that_ be all, Mr. Kyouraku?"

"For now, anway." If Nanao could have beaten the twinkle out of his eyes with her fan, she would have.

* * *

At 9:00 the next morning, when he finally arrived at the office, Nanao gave Shunsui the signed copy of her new employment contract, having spoken the agency, Lisa, and her mother about it the night before. Shunsui signed it cheerfully, and sent it off to the HR department, before giving her a few more forms to fill out, as well a gigantic bouquet of orchids, which Nanao gave back to him.

Two hours later he stuck his head out of his office and said, "Nanao, since I still don't have an Associate Director, as the Assistant Associate Director you'll also be the _Acting_ Associate Director – until we can find someone to fill the position permanently, of course. Carry on."

He popped his head back in before she could think of a suitable reply. Nanao spent the rest of the day irritably trying to figure out how she could have missed the implications of agreeing to be an 'Assistant' to a position for which there was no employee, and how she had ended up essentially taking the position she'd turned down the day before."

* * *

A/N: Reviews and suggestions help me write better. Thanks! :)


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Sorry, I know this has taken ages! Hope you enjoy it!

**

* * *

****Chapter 4**

* * *

"Nanao!"

Turning her head towards the voice, Nanao found herself engulfed in an enthusiastic hug. Rangiku Matsumoto had found her.

"I knew you'd be promoted!" Matsumoto said cheerfully, as she sat down to the right of Nanao, who was still catching her breath. "You're good at everything! Even the boss said so!"

"Ms. Matsumoto," said Nanao, straightening her glasses and her demeanor, both of which had been a little thrown off by the sheer energy of Matsumoto's greeting, "I assure you, I am not good at everything, although I am flattered that you think so. And I am only the _acting_ Associate Director until –"

Matsumoto flapped a hand dismissively. "Yes, yes, until Shunsui can find someone else, is that what he told you? And who else do you know who can keep him in line?" She leaned back to wave at Shunsui across Nanao's back, eyes twinkling. He winked.

"Rangiku, I hope you are not trying to tell my little Nanao that I have deceived her. My heart and intentions are as pure as the driven snow."

Matsumoto only laughed as turned her attention back to Nanao. "But Nanao, you have to call me Rangiku! And don't worry; I'll take care of getting everything together to celebrate your promotion! We'll go out tonight and –"

An unfamiliar voice pre-empted Nanao's own attempt to interrupt.

"Who's going out? Why the hell wasn't I invited?"

"Because you're so freakin' irritating. Now get out of the doorway." said yet another voice.

Nanao turned toward the door of the conference room to see a young man with a cleanly shaven head pushing past a slightly taller man whose hair was – there really wasn't another word for it – crimson.

"So, where are we going?" continued the bald man, slinging himself into a chair farther down the table as the redhead found a seat across from Matsumoto.

"To celebrate Nanao's promotion!" said Matsumoto, grinning. "You can both come. In fact, all the associate directors should come, don't you think?" This last was directed towards the man with short, dark hair who was just sitting down at one end of the table, next to an absolute giant of a man.

"I suppose, if it's for Kyouraku's new AD." the dark-haired man replied.

"Geez, don't sound excited or anything." said the redhead lazily. "Hey, Kira, you up for drinks?" The last was directed at still another man, a blond, just entering the room, a few steps behind two others who were deep in their own conversation.

"Ooh, where?" asked a petite woman from she immediately behind that group. She looked even younger than Nanao. "Are we having a party? Is it only for associate directors?" She turned toward a woman who was already seated. "Isane, are you going?"

Nanao was very quickly getting lost in the multiple conversations and faces filling up the conference room. She knew the names of all the directors and associate directors, but she hadn't actually met very many of them, and Matsumoto's growing plans were making it even harder to concentrate on everyone coming in.

"Oh, Boss, you should come too!" Matsumoto was now saying, having turned her back to Nanao in order to speak to Hitsugaya Toshiro. "It'll be fun!"

"If you come in hung-over tomorrow I will give Ryuu the day off and you will do all his paperwork." he replied, not looking up from his blackberry.

"Boss, how can you be so cruel?"

"And then you will file it. Correctly."

"But Boss!" Matsumoto pouted. "You're being such a spoil-sport!"

Nanao decided to try to ignore her. There were now over twenty people in the room, easily filling up the long, polished wood table. She had never before had a reason to go to one of these monthly strategy meetings, which were only attended by the directors and associate directors of each department; it was turning out to be a little livelier than she'd expected. Noticing that she was stealing glances around the table, Shunsui leaned over.

"Well Nanao, trying to put names and faces together? Let me help."

Nanao glanced at him. He looked serious enough and she relaxed a little. "Yes," she said in an undertone, "it would be nice to know who was with which department."

"Well, the woman at that end of the table, the fierce, frightening one, is-"

Nanao, horrified and hoping that the woman hadn't heard (especially as she _did_ seem rather intimidating), was spared the rest of what was sure to be a colorful introduction by the entrance of the executive director himself. The room quieted quickly, and Nanao sunk back into her seat, relieved.

The meeting was more calm than she'd expected, given how noisy it had been getting beforehand. Executive Director Yamamoto's presence was likely the reason for this, she decided, since she quickly discovered that he had a forceful, almost overwhelming, personality.

Not that he was loud, but his gravelly voice caused even the tall, scarred Director of Product Development and Testing to break off his irritated (and profane) dismissal of the Director of Research's update.

* * *

It was Yamamoto who insisted that the top staff of each department all meet together on a monthly basis, Shunsui explained, later that afternoon. It had also been the executive director's diea to include the associates in the meetings. "The old man says each department needs to be aware of all the others – which is why all the directors give written and oral updates."

"Well, I suppose it's nice to know where the progress updates I've been writing for the last six months have been going." said Nanao, dryly.

"Ah Nanao, your work is always appreciated! Last year I tried to give my reports in haiku, but the old man was not encouraging." He sighed dramatically. "The true artist is never appreciated."

"You only chose haiku because they're brief." Nanao responded tartly. "I wouldn't have appreciated them either."

"Nanao, how can a woman so lovely be so cruel?" Shunsui asked plaintively.

"You sound," said Nanao, "like Ms. Matsumoto."

"I told you to call me Rangiku, Nanao!" a voice called cheerfully from the doorway.

Nanao turned, startled.

"I knew you'd be changing offices, so I came to help!" The other woman's smile was wide and genuine. "Now c'mon, where's your new office?"

"Ms. Ma- Rangiku," began Nanao firmly, "that's very kind, but I am sure that you must have other work to do."

"Why my dear Nanao," said Shunsui, his voice rumbling with poorly hidden amusement, "if Director Hitsugaya can spare her, who are we to complain about being graced with Rangiku's beautiful presence?"

Both because of his amusement at her expense and his use of endearments in situations where she could not politely tell him off, Nanao glared at him – to no effect whatsoever.

"Well," Rangiku responded happily, "what Toshiro doesn't immediately realize certainly won't hurt him. Let's get to work!"

Rangiku and Shunsui both ignored Nanao's protests and started moving her things – and there really weren't too many – into the larger office that would now be hers. They finished forty-five minutes later, although Nanao could see it would take her another hour or so to rearrange her desk exactly as she liked it. She sighed and resigned herself.

"Ah, my little Nanao, don't look so glum! You're not too much farther away from me, and now we can have some sake to refresh ourselves!"

Nanao whipped around to protest, only to find Shunsui already leaning back in one of her office chairs, with Rangiku sitting on the armrest. He had produced a sake bottle from goodness only knew where, along with three small sake cups. "To my lovely Nanao!" he said, setting them on the small table next to him, and lifting the bottle.

"Matsumoto!"

Rangiku leapt up immediately, the guilt all over her face quickly replaced with a look of startled innocence as Toshiro Hitsugaya walked in through the open door.

"Oh, hey Boss, how did you fi- get here?"

"I walked, Matsumoto." he growled. "And I followed the trail of destruction and smitten male secretaries; it led me right to you."

"But Boss, I was just helping a friend in need, and I-"

"I don't think that Kyouraku needs help drinking sake, Matsumoto. Now get back to work." He nodded to Shunsui and Nanao, and sent a parting glare towards Matsumoto, before stalking out.

"Well, well," said Shunsui, "I think we may have to postpone this celebration, eh Rangiku?"

Matsumoto laughed. "Well, the Boss really might loose it if I don't do anything at all today. But some of the girls and I are meeting at 7 for dinner, and then we're all going out for drinks. Don't forget, Nanao!"

"Mats- Rangiku," sighed Nanao, "thank you, but I told you, I am not a party person."

"7 o'clock, Nanao. The little Greek restaurant on the corner of 16th and Lee." She paused, looking at the other woman seriously, just for a moment, raising her eyebrows. "Be there, alright? It's _your_ party."

Nanao tried to turn down the invitation again, she really did. But Rangiku was looking at her seriously, and she was clearly determined for Nanao to say yes, and …

"Alright, fine."

Rangiku smiled then, a warm, happy smile, not the mischievous grin she'd worn earlier, and Nanao had a sudden, nerve-wracking realization: Rangiku was just like Shunsui. She was going to do whatever she wanted and Nanao would no more be able to stop her from arranging parties and popping into the office than she could make Shunsui call her Ms. Ise.

* * *

Shunsui did not come in till 10:30 the next morning. Nanao, who had been at her desk since 8:30, was sending off waves of disapproval so strong they were nearly tangible when he finally strolled in.

"Late night, Mr. Kyouraku?" Coming from someone else, the question might have been solicitous.

Shunsui merely raised an eyebrow and smiled. "My dear Nanao, it can't be that you've missed me? And didn't you have a late night yourself?"

"No," said Nanao acidly, "I did not. As the acting Assistant Director I thought it important to get to the office on time." She wasn't really trying to hint that Shunsui do the same; Nanao was fully aware of what an exercise in futility that would be. So she felt a twinge of guilt when Shunsui's face fell with an almost comical rapidity at her words. Perhaps she really was being too mean. But she hardened her heart. He had been ridiculously late – he _should_ feel guilty for being so irresponsible and it would do him a world of good to-

"But Nanao, you mean you didn't go out with Rangiku? Lovely, lovely Nanao, how tragic!" Shunsui perched on the edge of her desk, rather looming over her, his shadow obscuring the report she had been trying to read.

"Of course I went!" Nanao said, exasperated. "I just didn't stay out till all hours of the morning!"

"And did you have fun?" he sounded hopeful, and genuinely interested. Nanao sighed a little. He wanted her to have had fun, and cared about how she and Rangiku's evening had gone. This was why it was so hard to stay mad at the man.

"Yes." she admitted, "I did." Shunsui beamed. The last shreds of the irritation which had been building up with each tick of the clock slid away, dissolved by his glowing exuberance.

Shunsui got off her desk, but immediately pulled another chair over and settled himself in it, still looking at her. Nanao couldn't ignore his unspoken invitation.

"All we did was go out." Shunsui continued smiling at her, one elbow propped on her desk, his chin in the palm of his hand. She sighed and continued. "Rangiku and several of the other associate directors and I went out for dinner and then we met up with a few others at a club she likes."

"And you had fun." Shunsui prompted.

Nanao sighed again. "Yes. I had fun." She wished it didn't feel like defeat, somehow, to admit it. "Rangiku is very … outgoing. The others were all very nice."

Shunsui's eyebrows rose. "Nice?"

She thought back to the previous evening. The bald man and the redhead – Ikkaku and Renji, she reminded herself – came to mind. "Well, interesting," she paused, "and loud," she finally qualified. "I was glad to have a chance to meet and talk with my colleagues."

A low chuckle drew her attention back to the man beside her. "What?" she asked, nettled.

"My dear, a little enthusiasm in unlikely to hurt you."

"It might." Nanao retorted and was immediately mortified by the sheer amount of immaturity in the statement she had just made. "And I really don't see how my choice of adjective matters. Or how I spent my evening, for that matter." she added, hoping to distract him her unimpressive comeback.

"Ah, but if you're not happy," said Shunsui, standing up and moving towards the door, "I can't enjoy myself, my heart." And he was gone, leaving Nanao gaping at the door.

* * *

Nanao picked up the phone on the second ring. "Ise Nanao speaking."

"Ah, Ms. Ise, it's Jyuushiro Ukitake."

"Mr. Ukitake, how good to hear from you. What may I help you with?"

"Actually, Ms. Ise, I wanted to apolgize."

"Apologize, Mr. Ukitake?"

"Yes, I'm afraid it's my fault that Shunsi was late this morning. My health is not always the best, and he insisted on taking me to the doctor when I became a little ill last night at dinner. I hope it wasn't too inconvenient."

"Please don't apologize, Mr. Ukitake, there was not problem at all. I hope you're feeling better today."

"Much better, thank you. And now I'll let you get back to you work."

Nanao hung up and stared at the phone. It simply wasn't fair. First he cared about how she was doing, then he called her "my heart," and then he acted selflessly. He should not be allowed to keep confusing her like this, Nanao thought, irritated with herself for jumping to conclusions and with Shunsui for being unexpected. What was she supposed to think now?

* * *

**A/N:** I couldn't resist putting in a fair amount of Matsumoto - she's so fun to write! I hope she's not too much ;) And poor Nanao, she keeps getting left in mental and emotional turmoil. I shall have to make it up to her somehow. Reviews/advice are much appreciated!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** I'm back! And I realized that I've been terrible about remembering to do this, but none of these characters belong to me. There, disclaimed.

* * *

I've been a terrible person, Nanao thought. I jumped to conclusions. I was rude to Shunsui –_my boss_. I ought to be officially reprimanded for that. Agitated, she twirled the pen she was holding between her fingers, drumming on the surface of her desk with her other hand.

It was she who had been impolite, unpardonably so. So perhaps she ought to apologize? He was her superior, had been completely innocent, and –

Nanao stopped the nervous movement of her pen. Since when had Shunsui Kyouraku been "completely innocent"? Mr. Ukitake had vouched for his lateness this morning, but what about all the other ones? What about the meetings he had skipped, and the sake bottles she knew were hidden (not very well) in the bottom drawer of the far left filing cabinet?

She set the pen down, indignant.

He should really be apologizing to her. Just because he had an excuse this once didn't mean all the other incidents could be forgotten. Her suspicions and her reaction had been perfectly justified, given his past behavior. He didn't deserve any kind of apology.

With a fresh sense of justification, Nanao picked up a pencil to being marking the proofs in front of her.

And stopped, with a small frown. She had always prided herself on her meticulousness, her responsibility and her logic, and Nanao knew she was being far from logical now. Being around Shunsui seemed to do that to her, in fact. She was not going to be emotional and irrational about this, though. She simply needed to look at the issue in a balanced light.

She _had_ been harsh, even if her suspicions were justified – which, she reminded herself, they were. She was feeling out of sorts now because her suspicions with regards to this particular incidence had been proved wrong. But really, why hadn't Shunsui explained himself? It was not what she would have expected. She would have thought he'd come out with it, be pathetic about being unjustly accused. But perhaps he hadn't wanted to embarrass Mr. Ukitake by bring up his illness?

That might be it, she thought. He wouldn't have been reluctant to melodramatically accuse her of cruelty normally, in a bid for sympathy, but as Mr. Ukitake was involved … she'd known that Mr. Ukitake was ill, of course, but he had always been very light about his health condition.

She ought to have noticed that Shunsui was being evasive. She should have noticed that he was acting strangely! Of course, she'd been rather out of sorts with her boss since her unexpected promotion and, she admitted reluctantly to herself, had perhaps been looking for an excuse to be upset at him. Therefore she had jumped on the chance to complain. Well, she knew what to do, given that she'd been in the wrong.

* * *

That afternoon Nanao did not manage to be quite as productive as she'd planned to be. She was finding it hard to work while trying to think of a facing-saving way to admit to having been completely in the wrong. She finally decided to be matter-of-fact about it. After all, matter-of-fact and Nanao Ise were practically synonymous.

So that afternoon, once she had packed her briefcase, put her desk in order, and shut down her computer, Nanao squared her shoulders and made her way to Shunsui's office. She walked in after hearing his absentminded "Come in" and found him sitting at his desk, apparently working.

"Ah, Mr. Kyouraku, I wanted to –"

He looked up, smiling, "Yes, Nanao?"

Nanao plowed on, her eyes firmly on his forehead as she talked. "My behavior this morning was wrong. I was extremely rude, and relied on assumptions rather than fact. Please accept my apology."

"Ah, Nanao?" Shunsui sounded a little concerned, and she reluctantly shifted her gaze a few inches so she could look him in the eyes.

"That, um, that was all I wanted to say." Nanao informed him, a little nervously, readying herself to go now that she had finished. She hated apologies; they meant that she had failed, somehow.

But Shunsui was still looking at her, intently, and she couldn't quite turn away. Suddenly, though, he smiled. Not his usual debonair, teasing one, but a lighter, almost surprised, smile. He leaned back casually in his chair, still holding her gaze.

"Ah, Nanao, you could never upset me! But may I ask what prompted this?"

Nanao hesitated. "Mr. Ukitake called, and said that you had been helping him last night. I, well I shouldn't have made assumptions about the reasons for your lateness."

Shunsui sighed. "I can't believe Jyuu went and spoiled the game."

"The game?" Nanao's eyebrows went up.

"Jyuushiro is serious, responsible and good. And so he is always meddling, and being honest and forthright." He smiled fondly at some memory. "But darling Nanao, don't let him convince you that I'm like that too."

Nanao wished she was sure that he was only avoiding the issue out of modesty. But she only replied, "That's hardly likely, sir."

Shunsui's smiled broadened. "Well, well, I would hope not. That would be months of effort gone to waste. But maybe I have teased you a bit much. I assure you, my dear Nanao, that I will try not to be so carried away by your beauty in the future."

His eyes were twinkling. Nanao's were not. "Perhaps you would be more like to remember," she suggested, "if you addressed me as Ms. Ise."

"But Nanao, I _was_ wounded by your suspicion this morning." Shunsui went on, grandly ignoring her. "To know how little confidence you have in me …" he trailed off with a melodramatic sigh. "But perhaps there is something you could do to ease my pain …" he left the sentence hanging hopefully.

"Such as?" Nanao asked, repeating _do not jump to conclusions_ to herself.

"We must have lunch together tomorrow, my lovely Nanao, to get rid of all this bad feeling." he announced. "We can take a small picnic into the courtyard; a loaf of bread, a jug of wine, apple blossoms overhead, and my dear Nanao, basking in the sunlight beside me."

Well, the lunch part wasn't a terrible idea, Nanao thought, although a picnic was completely out of the question. It could be a sort of working lunch. Maybe. Well, a lunch during which she worked. Or tried to. No, she was not about to let him have his own way on this when he already took advantage of her willingness to do paperwork. "I will consider bringing something for tea tomorrow." she informed him.

He beamed at her, and Nanao had a sinking suspicion that this was what he had been aiming for all along.

* * *

Nanao decided to make cookies. Shunsui was almost certain to seize upon the chance she'd offered and, she told herself, it was less trouble to make the cookies than to deal with his piteous disappointment if she didn't bring anything for him.

But while she could predict his reaction if she didn't bring something for tea the next day, Nanao was rather frustrated to realize how little she really understood her boss; he was a mess of contradictions. As she began measuring flour, sugar, baking powder and other ingredients, Nanao examined the situation.

Shunsui flirted constantly, and not just with her (although she did seem to be the object of most of his pet names). He was irresponsible, trying to avoid meetings when he could and napping during work hours. But when he did work he got things done quickly and well, apparently feeling that if he had to take the trouble to work he ought to accomplish something. He was brilliant, with an instinctive grasp of marketing and a good memory, both of which had been supplemented by an excellent education. If promotions had been given out on the basis of energy expended, however, Nanao doubted he would have obtained his current position.

And of course there was the matter of how he treated her. His referring to her as "my heart" had only been teasing – he'd admitted as much that afternoon. She would have thought he didn't take her seriously, except he'd promoted her. And he must have recommended her strongly, or Director Yamamoto wouldn't have approved the decision.

Furthermore, she enjoyed talking to Shunsui when they were discussing work-related projects. He listened attentively to her input, freely sharing his own ideas and experiences; they really did work well together. When he wasn't teasing he was very pleasant to be around, very calm and laid-back. And of course, as Rangiku had helpfully pointed out over drinks the week before, it was better to work for an attractive man than an unattractive one, and there was no denying that Shunsui was an attractive man.

But none of this was helping her figure out exactly what her boss's attitude towards her was. Nanao put the baking sheet into the now pre-heated oven and sat down at her small, round kitchen table. Perhaps she ought to call Lisa again.

Making up her mind, she walked over the phone, taking it back to the table, along with a bowl granola. Lisa, fortunately, had time to chat. They talked for a few minutes about the book-signing that Lisa had been to the previous weekend and the new restaurant she'd seen while there, but Lisa soon turned the conversation to Nanao.

"So, Nanao, tell me what's bothering you. I've known you long enough to know you've got a reason for calling."

"I do." Nanao admitted, "I'm afraid it's about work again, though."

"Well, hurry up and spit it out. We're not getting any younger here."

Nanao almost laughed, but went on. "It's just that I like Sereitei, and I'm flattered to have been promoted, and I like my new position much better."

Lisa muttered something impatient that might have been "Yes, we've already been over that."

Continuing smoothly, Nanao went on, "But I'm still having a little trouble with Mr. Kyouraku. It's frustrating but I just don't know where I stand with him and I don't feel like I understand him, even thought I've been at Sereitei for months."

Lisa was quiet for a moment, thinking. Then she said, "Tell me what specifically happened to start you wondering all this again."

So Nanao explained.

"Well, you're young and pretty." was Lisa's first response. "So that would account for the flirting and teasing. And you tend to react to it, which would account for his continuing it."

"But I don't react!" protested Nanao. "I'm very calm and firm. It's only recently I've started getting a little annoyed."

"Then he's looking for a reaction." Lisa returned. "Shunsui watches out for other people. You've already noticed he takes careful care of the other employees. You're young, pretty, capable and serious – he probably feels it's his duty to help you loosen up."

"I suppose." said Nanao, but her voice was doubtful.

"Well, it's just a guess, but I'd say it's his way of taking care of you."

"I don't need to be taken care of!" protested Nanao.

"I'm not the one to tell that to; I finished babysitting you years ago."

* * *

Nanao went to work the following morning with a box oatmeal butterscotch cookies and a fresh sense of determination. She would be professional and calm, prove she did not need looking after – she was 28 for heaven's sake! – and she might, just might, consider trying to loosen up a little. When she figured exactly how to do that.

After carefully hiding the cookies in a desk drawer, Nanao went to work with a will. She was focusing on part of the new Karakura campaign and the work was mostly independent at this point. Just as well that it was, she thought, since Shunsui was tied up in meetings about the campaign with International Business, Accounting, Communications and Advertising.

Momo Hinamori, the assistant director of the Accounting department, came by around 11 in search of a few files.

"Mr. Aizen heard that you had information on the old Karakura campaign." she explained. "He was wondering if you would mind lending us that research, and the information on the rival organizations, so that we can work out some predictive numbers for Mr. Hitsugaya."

It took Nanao about fifteen minutes to get everything together, but she didn't begrudge the time; Momo was a very pleasant, talkative woman, about her own age, and Nanao liked her. They had gotten along well during the "girl's dinner" that Rangiku had organized to celebrate Nanao's promotion and ended up spending more time together during the subsequent nights out Matsumoto had organized.

Momo's visit was the only real interruption of the morning – as Shunsui was out of the office and Rangiku was tied up in meetings, the only emails or phone calls Nanao received were brief and actually work-related.

Shunsui finally returned a little after 1, stopping by Nanao's office to update her on the status of the project. He did not mention tea or lunch.

At 2:30 Nanao went to the break room and filled Shunsui's personal tea pot with hot water. Setting it on a tray with two mugs she stopped by her office to collect her cookies before making her way to Shunsui's office. Too late she realized that with the tray in both hands she couldn't knock.

"Mr. Kyouraku?" she called. "Could you open the door? I'm afraid my hands are full." Instantly, almost before she was done speaking, the door was swept open, exposing the interior of Shunsui's office. Nanao stepped in carefully, looking around for her boss.

"Ah, Nanao, let me take that." He said, shutting the door and coming up behind her. She turned, careful not to jostle the tray, only to have him scoop it out of her hands. "Just here," he called over his shoulder, sweeping over to a low table already set up near one of the windows. Nanao was more than a little glad to see that there were no flower petals, candles, or fine linen table cloths in sight.

Instead the simple wooden table was set with two teacups, a bowl of wildflowers and a small plate of fruit. Shunsui added the teapot and her cookies to the table, and settled himself beside it.

"Well Nanao?" he asked, looking up with a slight smile. "You don't want the cookies to go to waste, do you?"

"I have to get back to work in half an hour." Nanao said sternly, by way of an answer. But she couldn't help smiling a little as she sat.

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**A/N:** So I kind of felt like Shunsui had been getting away from me, hence all the introspection and exploration of his character by both Nanao and Lisa. It seemed necessary. Again, it will probably be at least three weeks before I update as I'll be away from internet access. Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** I don't own the characters, or even all of the plot. :(

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**Chapter 6**

"Someone's in a good mood."

Nanao looked up from her computer to find Rangiku Matsumoto in the door to her office, one shoulder leaning against the frame. Rangiku tossed her ginger hair over the other shoulder and raised one eyebrow questioningly. "Any particular reason why, Nanao?"

"It's nothing." Nanao replied calmly as she tried not to blush. She'd been almost _humming_. What next? "Work's just gone well this week."

"Um-hmm." But Matsumoto did not sound convinced. "Well, you can tell me all about it over dinner." At Nanao's blank look she went on. "Seriously? Don't tell me you've forgotten! It's _Friday_. It's been _two weeks_ since our last girl's night out. Maybe more. But tonight is our night, and we are going out, Hon!"

Nanao glanced down at her conservative, dark-gray, pinstriped pantsuit. "In this?"

"Don't worry, last time I dropped by your apartment I picked up a couple things to store at the office. And remember shopping last weekend? I maybe accidentally-on-purpose kept that shirt you kept trying to put back. And here it is!" Matsumoto reached into her briefcase and triumphantly pulled out the flimsy blue shirt that Nanao remembered only too well. Not that it wasn't decent – Matsumoto had been slowly forced to give up on getting the other woman into anything like a revealing top – but it was so, well, so _light blue_. And it was too silky, with all kinds of unnecessary ruffles. Nanao felt ridiculous wearing it.

But she'd been trying to take Lisa's advice to "loosen up" a little, at least so as to save herself from her boss's repeated attempts to help her do so, and Matsumoto had sworn up and down that Nanao looked gorgeous in it, and anyway, it _was_ a girls' night out … she gave in.

Five hours later she was wishing that Matsumoto was a little more careful in defining the terms she used. Certainly it _had_ been a girls' night out – until after dinner, when it turned out that Matsumoto had invited not only most of the other associate directors, but some of their bosses, to one of her favorite after-dinner spots: a local ice-cream parlor.

"This isn't exactly what I thought you had in mind." Nanao remarked over the hubbub as she looked at Matsumoto across the small round table they were sharing with Isane, Shuuhei, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Shunsui and, inexplicably, Zaraki Kenpacki and his six-year old daughter.

Matsumoto only laughed in reply. "Oh c'mon, doesn't it make a nice change? Besides, I _love_ ice-cream, and I hadn't seen Yachiru in _ages_." Here she stopped to make faces at the small girl before pushing her ice-cream towards the six-year old. In Nanao's opinion Yachiru Kenpachi did not need any more sugar, but trust that not to occur to Matsumoto. "And this is one of her favorite places too, isn't it, Zaraki?" The huge man only grunted in reply, which Matsumoto apparently took to indicate his agreement. "Besides," she continued, "it's fun!"

Nanao was not sure she would concur with this. Not that the ice-cream itself was a problem – it was quite good – but Nanao was still having trouble with the casual way in which most of the employees of Sereitei seemed to mix their work and personal lives. They _had_ to have friends who didn't work there, but you'd never know it from the amount of time they all spent together outside of the office.

Still, it didn't seem to have had a negative effect on the office environment, which was what counted in the end. In fact, if Shuuhei and Isane's conversation, or the shared laughter of Kira and Momo a few tables over was any indication, all of the interaction outside the office might be proving a good motivator and reinforcer of interdepartmental bonds.

Of course, she added mentally, inter- and intra-departmental relationships could lead to inter- and intra-departmental break-ups, which would be less than pleasant for all the parties involved.

Her deepening gloom was interrupted by Shusui, who leaned over to say with some amusement, "Why Nanao, don't tell me you're worrying about work while eating ice-cream! Relax a little, my dear."

"I'm quite relaxed, thank you." she replied automatically. She looked up to find him smiling incredulously. A little self-consciously (and hoping she wasn't starting to blush) Nanao amended: "Well, perhaps I was worrying a little."

And being very silly about it too, she added to herself. After all, there was no reason to worry about the effects a break-up would have on staff dynamics when no one was even dating yet. And things at Sereitei were actually going quite well. Shunsui was teasing her less, and between he and Matsumoto, Nanao was fairly certain that she'd been "loosing up" a little (and probably would have been whether she'd wanted to or not).

But now she _did_ want to, and she'd been making an effort to more approachable and friendly towards the others she worked with, especially the women. Isane and Nemu were both fairly quiet, though easy to talk to, and Nanao had especially enjoyed getting to know Momo, who was generally cheerful, talkative, and had a sense of humor that, in some ways, rivaled even Matsumoto's over-developed sense of fun.

The men were also easy to get along with, although Nanao had initially been put off by Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Renji's outrageous behavior. But she had come to enjoy watching some of their antics, though she still found Shuuhei and Kira easier to talk and relate to.

The coalescing of the group of associate directors was probably enhanced by their all being so young. Iba, at 36, was the oldest and also the only one married. He had two children, whose pictures he had cheerfully showed Nanao two weeks before when the group was having drinks immediately after work, and he had brought his wife to dinner with them the week afterwards. The others, however, were more or less in the same stage of life as Nanao: young, single and enjoying it.

And that, Nanao thought as she set down her empty ice-cream cup and stood up to follow Matsumoto out the door, was exactly what she ought to be doing, and why she ought stop borrowing trouble and enjoy their night out.

This didn't prove to be a very hard resolution to keep: as they were leaving the ice-cream parlor Mr. Ukitake told her not only that her shirt was a lovely color for her, but that Shunsui had been the one to comment on it first. This tidbit was both surprising and gratifying because Nanao had always considered herself somewhat plain. It was nice to know that her beauty-loving boss had approved of her apparel. It also helped that she had heard the compliment through Mr. Ukitake and not from Shunsui himself – it was hard to believe direct compliments from him because he always couched them in so many layers of hyperbole.

The bar they went to after ice-cream, at Matsumoto's insistence, was featuring a jazz band, and the atmosphere was light and relaxed. Nanao had a chance to talk to Momo, to closely observe (at Matsumoto's suggestion) the interactions between Isane and Shuuhei, and she even had a nice conversation with Ikkaku – an unusual circumstance indeed.

Nanao's good mood from Friday night carried over into Saturday. She spend the morning reading, met Lisa for lunch, then spent the afternoon with Matsumoto, Momo and Isane, as the former two were convinced that what Isane really needed to help her dating life was new shoes. Nanao tried to be the voice of reason, but instead got talked into buying a pair of shoes and a soft, fluttery green shirt for work.

"So many of your clothes are structured!" Momo had insisted, "This will be a bit of a new look for you." "And look how good the color is on you!" Isane had thrown in. Nanao was not proof against these arguments, although she did stand firm on her decision that her choice of underwear did not need to be updated.

On Sunday she went to visit her parents, and spent the day relaxing with them and enjoying being in the house she'd grown up in.

All in all it was a wonderful weekend. She was later unsure as to whether that was simply a cruel twist of fate or a sort of advance apology for the weeks that would follow.

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She stood in front of the mirror longer than usual on Monday morning, making sure that the ruffles of the new shirt were just so, and that the hang didn't look strange above her dress pants. But Nanao finally had to admit that there was nothing more to be done, and to make up for the unusual femininity of her attire, she was extra careful to pin up ever stray wisp of hair, pulling it all back into a tight bun.

Nothing seemed out of place when she entered the building, except that Shunsui seemed to be there already. It was odd, since only an important meeting would have dragged him into the office by 8:30, and she didn't remember that there was one scheduled, but then it was quite possible that he had simply forgotten to tell her, or that it was a last minute request from a client.

There was no explanatory email or flowery-scented note, so Nanao went on with setting up her things and getting out the papers she'd need immediately. After checking email and responding to a few of the more urgent ones, Nanao decided coffee was in order and headed towards the break room.

It was only 9:15, and the coffee machine was still surrounded by gossiping employees, several of whom were reporting that there was disorder in Legal, Advertising, and Accounting. It seemed that a few of the heads of department were ill, although no one was quite sure with what, and most of the staff were busy trying to figure out if they had seen flu-like symptoms in anyone around the building. Shunsui, despite clearly not being in his office, was not included in these speculations – his habitual tardiness was too common to be remarked on.

While Nanao didn't quite believe that three heads of department had simultaneously come down with a deadly illness, it did seem to be a fact that Aizen, Gin, and Tousen were not in the office. Perhaps there was a conference she hadn't heard about? But it was more likely that they were in the same meeting as Shunsui. She shared this thought with the rest of the staff in the break room, hoping to cut down on some of the gossip. She wasn't particularly hopeful that that would work, but it didn't seem like a bad idea to try.

She had barely sat down at her desk again when the phone rang.

"Nanao Ise sp-"

"Ah, Nanao." Shunsui's voice was tired. "Please come by my office immediately."

His tone was rather worrying. Shunsui, contrary to the belief of some around Sereitei, was perfectly capable of being serious. But now he had sounded almost weary, and Nanao was not quite sure what to make of it.

"There you are, lovely Nanao." The endearment seemed a little forced; Shunsui looked more tired than she'd ever seen him. There were, she counted quickly, _six_ coffee cups on the desk. He must have wanted caffeine very badly indeed.

"Sir," she began, sitting down slowly, "how long have you been here?"

"Since last night."

"What? But, what's happening? Why didn't you call me sooner? Are you feeling well?"

Shunsui chuckled. "I'm fine, just tired - I didn't get my beauty rest." he added with a flash of his usual self-pitying humor before becoming serious again. "Have you heard about anything happening in some of the other departments?"

"Yes," said Nanao slowly, "some of the staff are saying that at least three of the directors aren't in today – Aizen, Tousen, and Gin, I believe. People seem to think they're ill, although I assumed they were at a conference. Are they not?"

"Gossip certainly does travel quickly." Shunsui remarked. "Well, they certainly aren't here today, and I don't expect any of them back."

"Ever?" Nanao asked, startled. "Did they … quit? All three of them? Over the weekend? But that's - Shunsui, can they _do_ that?"

"I suppose you could call it quitting," Shunsui mused, "but I expect most people would call it probable embezzlement followed by betrayal of Sereitei by absconding with company secrets in order to start a rival organization."

Nanao gaped. Then shut her mouth, consternation on every feature of her face.

After about twenty seconds one of Shunsui's eyebrows quirked upwards. "What, no questions, my dear Nanao?"

Nanao pulled herself together. "When did it happen?" she asked, voice firm.

He sighed, and admitted: "We weren't sure until last night. It was Urahara, in Karakura, who noticed; he was puzzled that Gin had mentioned the possibly of a new contract on Friday. Fortunately for us, he and Hitsugaya keep in contact. Hitsugaya heard from Urahara on Saturday, and then spent that afternoon and evening looking things up, before telling Ukitake and I. The three of us spent most of Sunday trying to figure out exactly what was going on, and brought the other department heads and old man Yamamoto in on it late last night."

He paused, and his voice became a little gentler. "It's not that I didn't trust you enough to tell you right away, Nanao, but we couldn't tell _anyone_. We didn't even tell the old man until about 10 last night. By then there didn't seem to be any point in making you loose sleep when you'd be here soon enough." He leaned back in his chair again, closing his eyes briefly.

Nanao studied him for a moment, still trying to come to terms with everything she'd just heard. She _had_ been momentarily hurt that he hadn't asked her to come in – she'd worked on the Karakura contract, and might have been able to help spot anomalies – but it was clear that he hadn't intended to leave her out. In fact she was a little surprised at how quickly he had picked up the twinge of hurt that must have shown on her face. And he'd trusted her to tell her now, and now that she knew what was going on, Nanao intended to help take some of the weight off his shoulders.

She adjusted her glasses as if gearing up for battle and said briskly, "Well, who else knows?"

Shunsui opened his eyes, turning them up to the ceiling as he thought. "The old man, myself, the other department heads, and you. And Kira, Shuuhei, and Hinamori, of course. They had to be told."

"O-only us?"

He smiled. "I did say I trusted you, Nanao."

She blinked, but resettled her glasses again and went on. "Well, in that case, would it be possible for me to talk to Rangiku and Kira about it? All three of us have worked on the Karakura project."

"I would appreciate you looking through things, Nanao, but I don't know if you can work with them yet – Kira and the others are being debriefed, and I don't know if Rangiku has been told yet." He sighed again. "Nanao, you should know that Kira, Hisagi and Hinamori are under a lot of suspicion right now – it may not be possible for you to talk to any of them for quite a while."

Nanao was shocked. Of course, it made sense, given that it was their immediate superiors who had just left the company, presumably with valuable information, but still, it was impossible for her to imagine Momo doing anything remotely duplicitous. Of course, a week ago she would have said the same was true of Aizen, but still …

She hesitated, then said. "Mr. Kyouraku, what do you think?"

"About Hisagi and the others?"

"Yes."

"I think there's been too much suspicion already. They'll be hurting as much as anyone, probably more."

Nanao thought of Momo, always bubbling over with her admiration and devotion to Aizen. Rangiku used to tease her for having such a huge crush on her boss. Momo had always protested laughingly that she admired him in a _strictly_ professional sense, but … and Hisagi, who had worked under Tousen since coming to Sereitei nearly ten years ago, and Kira, who was in a similar situation, and – oh no, thought Nanao, filled with a sudden horror. What about Rangiku? Nanao had suspected for months that the red-head was secretly attached to Gin, for all her proclamations of eternal single-hood. How would she handle this?

Shunsui watched her shrewdly. "You see the problem? Sereitei is a wonderful place to work because of how close-knit we are, but something like this …"

She nodded, slowly. But Nanao was not given to inaction, and her first shock was giving way to anger, anger that those three … _things_ could have been so selfish, so cruel. She needed to _do_ something about it. She pulled her shoulders back and said: "Then I'd better get to work. Would it help for me to look through all of my files on Karakura, since Gin seems to have been concerned with it somehow? Or I can do any research you think would be helpful."

Shunsui smiled. This was the reason that he had hired Nanao as his associate director in the first place: she never gave up. She was stubborn, his little Nanao, and pulled through. And so practical!

"Yes, I think that would help. We need to know exactly what the three of them know, because we think – Jyuu and Toshirou and I – that their first move is going to be at attempt to corner the Karakura market. It's big, and while we've got a contract with Urahara, I expect they're hoping to get in before we can. So it's imperative that we know what information they're working with so that we can predict what they're planning."

Nanao nodded, and stood up. "I'll get right to work." She turned, but paused for a moment at the door. "Sir, I think … I think you should get some rest. We'll, that is, Sereitei will need you around."

Nanao was blushing a little as she pulled the door shut. Really, she scolded herself, we're in the middle of a crisis and you're telling him to take a nap? And that was _not_ a very professional way to express it. You should not be personally concerned about his health! Shaking her head, she walked briskly back towards her office.

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**A/N:** Okay, this was a little longer than usual. And it's (probably) the second-to-last chapter. Thanks for waiting patiently, y'all!


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** This chapter is a bit different, in that it wanders through the mire of angst a while before taking a sharp right turn into the sunny meadows of fluff at the end. More meaningful note at the end.

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**Chapter 7**

It had not been an easy week for anyone. Juggling the Karakura campaign, which was still going ahead at full force, while trying to reassure employees, keep the new interns occupied and still cooperate with the investigation … no, she was certainly glad it was Friday, Nanao thought, settling back in her chair and rubbing her temples.

And of all the weeks for those interns to start! It really was the worst kind of bad luck. The red-head was proving to be especially in need of supervision – she was glad that he was with Product Testing. Goodness knew that Zaraki, at least, didn't seem fazed by the furor around him. Their own, new Marketing intern was fairly level-headed, and very quiet, which was something to be grateful for. But no matter how well-behaved, Nanao was still finding herself hard-pressed to locate either tasks or supervision for him.

It didn't help that she'd barely seen Rangiku or Momo since the news had gotten out. Not that Rangiku had stopped her daily calls, but even the redhead was hard at work. Hitsugaya was extremely upset, she'd informed Nanao during one of their brief chats. Why this should cause her to start working diligently when no amount of threats, begging or ordering had done so in the past wasn't something Nanao had had time to ask about.

All she'd had time to do, in fact, was offer to drive when Rangiku, Hisagi, and Kira when to get "bloody well smashed," as Rangiku had so eloquently put it. It seemed like the only gesture she could make, and in the end she hadn't even been able to do that; Rangiku had been working so late every night that there hadn't yet been a chance. But Nanao planned to make the offer again tonight. It _was_ Friday, after all, and she was fairly sure that Hitsugaya would make Rangiku go home at some point, especially after she'd apparently mistaken the waiting room couch for her bed last night.

Nanao had only seen Momo for a few minutes in passing – she, Kira and Hisagi had been completely tied up, what with meeting with all kinds of investigators on top of trying to do both their own jobs and fill the posts abandoned by their former bosses.

Nanao had been doing some of that filling in herself, for that matter, as Shunsui had been forced to attend so many more meetings than usual. She wished she could go to some of them even though she knew, really, that she was needed around the office far more. But that didn't make it less frustrating to be in the dark constantly. She _hated_ not knowing what was going on, not being able to figure out how and why the three men had left as they did.

The worst part was that she _knew_ she was missing something, and it was throwing off her concentration in everything else she tried to work on.

She pulled herself out of her thoughts enough to focus on the papers in front of her, her hands idly turning the sheets over, both sides of each covered in her own meticulously neat handwriting: lists of everything she could think of relating to the desertion.

Not that Nanao was involved in the ongoing investigation of Aizen, Gin and Tousen, as Sereitei had hired some very discreet private investors, but she felt she could hardly ignore everything that was happening. Besides, she'd always found list-making very calming.

So she sat down and slowly pulled a blank piece of paper towards herself; perhaps the thirtieth list would be the charm.

"Investment Capital Needed" she wrote across the top of the page, then began jotting down estimates. "Operating expenses – say for the first three, no, better make it six, months," she muttered, "then building, hiring, advertising, design firm, furniture, amenities, insurance …" the list went on for quite a while, with Nanao putting down estimated prices next to each category until she felt she had a reasonable figure for their start-up capital. It would be a major company too; Aizen would be trying to eventually rival Sereitei. It was ironic – everyone had known he was ambitious, but had assumed that he would confine his aspirations to Sereitei.

The final figure Nanao's which estimates produced was staggering. But, she thought, it really shouldn't have surprised her. None of the three men would have left if they hadn't been absolutely certain they had the money to succeed.

But where in the world could they have gotten such a massive amount of money? That was what it really all came down to, she realized. Even if they had invested their private fortunes … she stood again. She needed to talk this over with someone. Momo would be busy, and anyway, she probably wouldn't want to have that conversation now. Rangiku was probably in a meeting, and she really couldn't talk to any of her subordinates about it …

Fortunately Shunsui was in his office, though he sounded a little preoccupied when she knocked. She went in anyway, and sat in the seat across the desk from him. "I just don't understand it." she said without preamble. She pushed the list she had just made across the table to him. "They _must_ have had very, very wealthy investors. I know that Aizen and Tousen and Gin have been getting substantial salaries for years, and Aizen at least has family money into the bargain, but-"

"He would never have risked his own money." Shunsui interjected. "He's the type to leave plenty in reserve."

Nanao continued the thread of his thought. "So he must have had quite a few investors, then. If I'm right he'll have needed at least – but _how_ did he convince anyone, even a large group of people, to put that much money in?"

Shunsui looked sober. "That's why everyone is so worried. True, as the head of Accounting it would be easy for Aizen to have gotten money out of Sereitei's accounts, but it doesn't look like he's been taking much. Besides that, none of them – not Aizen, Gin or even Tousen, should have had any vital information about Karakura – which presumably is why Gin was asking Urahara about it."

"But if Gin had to go to Urahara for information as basic as the status of Sereitei's contract in Karakura …" Nanao said helplessly.

"I know," Shunsui said, "it doesn't make sense. How could he not even know that and still be able to convince investors? They must have had very convincing information about past market behavior, or the competition, or-"

Nanao didn't really listen to the rest of his sentence. She was struggling to remember – what was it? She'd been working on the Karakura campaign for so long that it was sometimes hard to remember with whom she'd had what conversations. But she was sure that she'd been discussing the competition, with _someone_. As Shunsui trailed off into slightly frustrated silence, Nanao finally remembered, and her face blanched suddenly.

"Information about the competition." Nanao breathed, her voice was a horrified whisper.

Shunsui looked up in alarm. "Nanao?"

But she was caught up in the memory.

"_Momo! What a nice surprise. But what brings you to my office?"_

"_Oh, business, I'm afraid." She made a face as she said it, and Nanao chuckled._

"Nanao? Here, I'm going to get you some water." Shunsui said as he walked over to the pitcher set out on the sideboard.

"_Mr. Aizen heard that you had information on the old Karakura campaign. He was wondering if you would mind lending us that research, and the information on the rival organizations, so that we can work out some predictive numbers for Mr. Hitsugaya."_

Nanao ignored Shunsui's concerned face. How could she have been so _stupid_?!

"_Well, it's a bit of an unusual request, and I hate to led the research outside of the department –" Momo's face was taking on a resigned look, "-but if Mr. Hitsugaya needs the numbers, I don't suppose it's a big problem." Nanao had finished._

_She'd glanced up at the clock, knowing Shunsui wouldn't be back to the office for a couple hours, at the least, and made a quick decision. "Alright, let me get them. But I'd appreciate it if you could ask Mr. Aizen to send them back quickly; we may need them. And I'm sure Shunsui would like to see a copy of Mr. Hitsugaya's report, once he and Mr. Aizen finish it."_

"_No problem!" Momo had chirped, and the two had chatted for another minute while Nanao found everything that Momo said Aizen needed._

She'd completely forgotten the incident in light of the tea she'd had with Shunsui later in the afternoon and her subsequent relief at having things more normal between them. Then things had been so busy, and what with work, Rangiku's after-work plans, talking to Lisa and going to her cousin's wedding, she'd only just glanced at the files when Momo brought them back last Wednesday. She hadn't even thought to email Mr. Hitsugaya to ask about the report.

She blinked rapidly to clear her eyes, and hopefully her head, and absently sipped the water Shunsui had put into her hands. She looked up at him, forcing herself to be calm.

"Sir," she said, "I'm afraid I've, I've failed you."

Shunsui looked a question. "But my dear Nanao, don't say that in such a serious tone of voice! I thought you were going to confess-"

"Sir," she interrupted. "I've failed you. It's my fault that Aizen was able to find investors and left the company." Time seemed slower than usual, and she had a second to register how calm her voice was, given that it was the hardest thing she had ever had to confess, before she was distracted by Shunsui's obvious confusion.

"It's my fault." she repeated. "Aizen did have information about the market in Karakura, how the competition for an electronics firm would be minimal, the projected sales figures, everything." She took another deep breath. "He had everything he would need to convince his investors because _I gave it to him_."

"Nanao, what …?" Shunsui asked. It was clear that he still didn't understand, and she didn't really want him to, because then he'd know what a dreadful mistake it had been to promote her. But it was too late now, and she couldn't lie to him.

"Momo came by a couple weeks ago and asked if she could have those figures since Aizen needed them for a set of sales projections he was setting up for Mr. Hitsugaya. I wasn't sure … but you weren't in, and I assumed that someone had already okay-ed it, and I never even checked with Mr. Hitsugaya to make sure that he had gotten it and-" she gulped, closer to crying than she'd yet been, "and it's all _my_ fault. I just, I didn't _think_. I didn't even realize it until just now, but it makes sense, it has to have been me-"

Shunsui stood up abruptly, walking to the window, and Nanao fought the tremble in her voice, horrified at everything: her situation, what she'd done, that Shunsui wasn't looking at her. But she couldn't seem to stop the words from pouring out. "It was so _stupid_ of me! I should have realized that it wasn't within procedures, I should have _known_. I, I'm so sorry, Mr. Kyouraku, I …" she trailed off, hopelessly, looking at his back, his silhouette hard against the fluttering curtains in the window. The pale pink shirt did nothing to soften the rigidity of the lines of his shoulders.

This was it then. She had not just made a mistake, she had failed completely. She had put Sereitei's biggest new campaign in jeopardy. She had basically financed the company that would be in competition with them in that new market. The best job she'd ever had, and she'd just blown any chance she had had of keeping it. She was loosing all of it, everyone here, thanks to her own stupidity.

Nanao didn't try to fool herself on that point. Even Shunsui's good nature had to have limits, and with this, this _betrayal_, she simply didn't have a chance. Just when she was beginning to understand him a little better, beginning to hope that, perhaps… she'd been so excited – was it just last Friday? – when he'd complimented her shirt. She had flattered herself that– but there was no point in thinking that any more.

Nanao wrenched her thoughts away. There was no point in those kinds of regrets. What she could do, though, was try and save him some trouble now. She stood up.

"I'm sorry, sir, for my behavior just now, and for my," she faltered, "my actions in giving the information to-"

Shunsui turned, cutting her off with a wave of his hand. His eyebrows were drawn together in concentration. "No, Nanao, don't worry about apologizing." He looked at her directly now, and his gaze softened a little. "What we need to do is talk it over with Jyuu quickly, and we'll go to Yamamoto … yes, that'll have to be next." In a fit of energy he threw himself into his office chair and grabbed his phone, dialing Mr. Ukitake's extension.

"Sir," said Nanao, cursing her voice, which wouldn't quite be steady, "please don't go to the trouble, it's, it's fine, I understand. I accept full responsibility and I'll submit my resignation immediately."

Shunsui put down the phone with a jerk. "What?!" he demanded. "Why in the world you would do that? I need you here! "

"Sir, I-"

"Nanao, I refuse to allow you to quit. You made a mistake. Everyone does. It will be fine; no one's asked me to resign yet, have they? Now sit down while I call Jyuushiro."

Nanao stood. "Sir." He glanced at her face and stopped, then stood up and walked over to her. Taking one of her hands in his, he led her back over to the chair she'd been in, and sat her down, sitting in the chair next to her.

"Nanao," he said seriously, "no one expects you to be perfect. You couldn't have predicted this any more than any of us. You haven't failed anyone, not even yourself, and certainly not me. You can't resign because of one accident. Besides, what would Matsumoto do without you? And do you think I would ever find another associate director who combined such efficiency and force of personality with such beauty? No," he answered cheerfully, "there's no one who could replace my little Nanao. So you certainly can't leave. Now sit here, drink my tea – or better yet, have some sake, while I call Jyuu. We'll deal with everything. The Old Man is a little grumpier than usual right now, but I've seen him worse."

As he spoke he pulled a side table over, took his teacup off his desk and set in on the table, and produced a sake bottle from the bottom shelf of the table (where it was hidden in a cabinet shaped like a set of books).

"Sir …"

"Nanao," he said, putting a hand lightly on the side of her face and letting it rest there for just a moment, "it will be fine. You're going to stay here with me."

"I- thank you." she whispered.

He smiled at her, his usual lazy, knowing smile, and went over to his desk to call Mr. Ukitake again. "You see?" he said, "you're feeling better already. Drink the sake, my lovely Nanao, while I talk to Jyuu. And stop worrying – I hate to see my Nanao worried. Now, tell me that you weren't trying to take the whole responsibility for those bastards leaving. I know you were, you were saying to yourself, 'It's all my fault, I didn't keep track of their every move, I didn't follow them around taking notes so that I'd know exactly what was happening.'" His eyes were twinkling as he looked at her. "Isn't that right, my lovely little Nanao? You worry too much! You were trying to take the whole blame, when it doesn't belong to you."

"Shunsui," she began. He raised an eyebrow. Relief was making her giddy, but she wouldn't be herself if she just let it go. "About my name…"

The other eyebrow went up. He was sitting on his desk now, one foot on the floor, head on one side as he listed to the ringing and waited for Mr. Ukitake to pick up. "Now dear Nanao, you can't ask me to 'address you as Ms. Ise,' not when you're on a first name basis with me. Besides, Shunsui sounds so perfect from your lovely lips."

Nanao blushed, but went on, "I was going to say, calling me Nanao isn't appropriate," she hesitated, "in front of other people."

And Shunsui threw back his head and laughed. Looking at him, Nanao believed what he'd said earlier – everything _was_ going to be alright.

* * *

**A/N:** This chapter took me so so so long to write. Normally it just takes me a while to find time, but I had a draft of this weeks ago, I just haven't been satisfied with it (and it's still not my favorite). Anyway, IS the last chapter of Nomenclature. Orginally I thought that when I reached this point in the plot Shunsui and Nanao would actually be together ... but then I also thought it would be about 3 chapters, total. Anyway, I want to concentrate on some other fics, but perhaps someday a sequel will happen (I'm especially tempted to write one that revolves around the new interns... ). I would love any comments y'all have to offer!


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